Criminal Investigations: Managing The Investigation

Perception vs. Reality in the Justice System

  • High-Profile Cases: Society, via news feeds and media, is often fascinated by "big cases" involving high-profile individuals killed in interesting ways, or government officials committing crimes. These are often seen as the norm.

  • Actual Reality: The majority of cases dealt with by investigations are vastly different, focusing on:

    • Low-level misdemeanors.

    • Serious property crimes like auto theft and residential burglaries.

    • More serious felonies such as armed robbery, sexual assault, and murder.

    • Less attention is given to disadvantaged individuals in poor neighborhoods, despite similar occurrences of crime.

The Disturbing Reality of Crime: Data and Outcomes

  • Source Data: Information is derived from the well-respected National Institute of Justice data and the National Crime Victimization Survey.

  • Crime Occurrence: Of 1000 serious crimes that actually occur in America annually (excluding petty assaults/thefts, focusing on felonies):

    • Reporting to Police: Only 500 (50\%) are reported to the police, highlighting a significant lack of public confidence and trust.

    • Unsolved Cases: Of the 500 reported crimes, 400 of them (80\%) go unsolved, meaning no arrest is made.

    • Arrests: Approximately 100 arrests are made.

      • Some are juveniles, for whom not much typically happens.

      • 65 are adults.

      • District Attorney's Office Action: For 25 of these 65 adults, the District Attorney's office does not even file charges. This can occur if, despite probable cause for arrest, the case is unlikely to be proven in court.

  • Court Proceedings: At least 40 people (out of the original 100 arrested) proceed to court.

    • Felony Fugitives: A significant 25\% of these individuals, classified as felony fugitives, are released from custody and disappear, sometimes only being located later during routine traffic stops.

  • Cases in the Courtroom: Ultimately, only about 30 cases reach the courtroom for trial.

    • Plea Bargains: A vast majority (95\%) of criminal justice system cases result in guilty pleas, with very few proceeding to a full trial.

    • Sentencing Outcomes: Around a third of those found guilty are put on probation, and only two-thirds are sentenced to custody.

  • Recidivism: A high number, 2/3 or 67\% of individuals who are sent to prison will reoffend and return to custody.

Case Closure and Extradition

  • Conditions for Case Closure: An investigation is considered complete or a case closed if:

    • The suspect is arrested.

    • The suspect dies (though initial assumptions can sometimes be incorrect, as in the "Night Stalker" example where a report of death in Mexico was later disproven).

    • The suspect flees to a country that refuses extradition (e.g., a parent abducts a child to Egypt, which does not extradite, effectively closing the case unless the suspect leaves that country).

  • Extradition Defined: Extradition is the formal process by which an individual arrested outside a prosecuting jurisdiction (e.g., a Santa Barbara PD detective's jurisdiction, or across state/national borders) is returned to that jurisdiction for trial. This involves paperwork and legal procedures and applies both state-to-state (e.g., California to Florida) and internationally (e.g., US to Mexico).

Distinctions: Investigation Work vs. Patrol Work

  • Patrol Officers: Their duties encompass a broad range of responsibilities; only about 20\% of their work directly relates to criminal investigations. The majority of their time is spent on general law enforcement, traffic control, and maintaining peace.

  • Detectives: Are exclusively focused on crime-related investigations, making their role specialized.

Modern Case Management and Preliminary Investigations

  • Resource Management: Managing available resources effectively is critical, as unlimited resources do not exist. Budgetary constraints and lack of funds for officers and detectives can lead to audits and budget cuts, emphasizing the need for wise allocation.

  • Preliminary Investigations (First Responder/Patrol Officer's Role):

    • Initial Actions: Identify witnesses and victims, securing their information immediately because people often leave and do not self-report to law enforcement later.

    • Evidence Handling: Practice protecting evidence and collecting any that might be destroyed.

    • Coordination: Coordinate the work of other units, such as securing the crime scene, managing crowds, and directing personnel.

    • Rapport Building: It is essential for patrol officers to build rapport with witnesses and victims during this initial contact, as this first impression is critical and difficult for detectives to mend later if damaged.

    • Information Collection: Obtain fresh statements from witnesses while memories are clear, as memory degrades quickly.

    • Scene Security: Prioritize securing evidence that could be lost and protecting the crime scene from contamination.

    • Canvassing: Conduct neighborhood canvassing – a resource-intensive basic investigative technique involving door-to-door inquiries, logging observations, and noting uncontacted homes for follow-up.

    • Media Management: Manage media presence to prevent crime scene pollution and ensure communication by a designated, proficient spokesperson (field supervisor or Public Information Officer), providing honest information without compromising the investigation.

    • Briefing: Brief arriving crime scene investigators and detectives on preliminary findings, victim/witness statements, and other known facts.

Case Assignment, Follow-up, and Solvability

  • Selective Assignment: Not all cases are assigned to detectives due to limited resources. Murders and sexual assaults generally receive investigative effort, while less serious cases often receive minimal or no follow-up, which can be upsetting for victims (e.g., a PlayStation 5 theft without a serial number is unlikely to be investigated further).

  • Solvability Factors: Criteria used to determine if a case warrants detective assignment include:

    • Presence of witnesses.

    • Known suspects.

    • Detailed location, description, or identification of the suspect.

    • Identification of a suspect vehicle.

    • Traceable perpetrator or items (e.g., a serial number).

    • A significant Modus Operandi (MO) that matches other cases, providing leads.

    • Likelihood of good physical evidence.

    • A reasonable chance the case can be solved.

    • A low probability that anyone other than the suspect could have committed the crime.

  • Follow-up Investigation by Detectives:

    • Triage/Prioritization: Agencies may need to triage serious felonies, especially when overwhelmed (e.g., Santa Maria PD with MS-13 homicides had a backlog of 50 child abuse cases).

    • Case Division: Cases are typically divided by crime nature: against persons, property, or vice/intelligence.

    • Political Considerations: Political pressure from voters, city officials, or the public can significantly influence case prioritization and investigation, particularly for high-profile cases.

    • Caseload Management: Supervisors must ensure fair and even distribution of cases among detectives, taking into account specialized roles (e.g., high-tech, undercover, financial crimes).

    • Relationship Building: Building trust and relationships in communities, though time-consuming, has been shown to significantly improve solvability, as highlighted in Jill Leovy's book "Ghettoside" concerning LAPD's work in ignored neighborhoods.

    • Prosecutor Collaboration: Early involvement of prosecutors is crucial as they can guide detectives on search warrant preparation, case-making strategies, and relevant laws. Many agencies have 24/7 on-call prosecutors for this purpose.

Supervising Detectives

  • Role of Supervisors: Supervisors, typically sergeants, are responsible for selecting and training detectives.

  • Hierarchy: The typical police rank structure includes police officer/deputy sheriff, corporal/senior deputy, and sergeant (first-line supervisor for 7-10 people). Sergeants often supervise specialized detective units (e.g., major crimes, property crimes, vice/gangs).

Case Management Software

  • Record Management Systems (RMS): These systems keep track of all agency data, like parking citations and jail information.

  • Relational Databases: A powerful tool where multiple agencies dump all their information (from minor infractions to serious crime data) into a shared database. This allows detectives to access a vast amount of information about individuals across different jurisdictions, which can be highly effective but also raises privacy concerns.

Reasons for Investigation Failures

  • Source: The book "Criminal Investigation Failures" (2009).

  • Key Issues:

    • Confirmation Bias (Tunnel Vision): Investigators become fixated on a single theory or suspect, ignoring other potentially relevant leads. This can be disastrous, emphasizing the need to follow all evidence.

    • Groupthink: Occurs when a group adheres to a collective theory, and individuals who disagree remain silent due to a lack of confidence or fear of expressing an alternate view. An example shared involved a SWAT raid where the speaker's correct assessment of a two-residence dwelling was dismissed, leading to an officer being shot. This highlights the importance of being a "proud contrarian" and speaking up.

    • Probability Errors: Mentioned as another source of failure.

  • Combating Failures:

    • Utilize case studies.

    • Foster an atmosphere of open inquiry.

    • Defer conclusions until sufficient evidence is gathered.

    • Strictly follow the evidence.

    • Avoid tunnel vision.

    • Encourage brainstorming and creative thinking.

Media Relations

  • Journalism's Role: Journalists (e.g., Nick Welch of the Santa Barbara Independent) can assist law enforcement through education and information dissemination, often cooperating with investigations.

Improving Productivity

  • Cost of Personnel: Law enforcement personnel are expensive; a patrol cop's salary is around $121,000/year, a detective's around $140,000/year, and with benefits, the total cost per officer can exceed $$ $250,000/year.

  • Resource Optimization:

    • Leverage Civilians: Employ civilians for tasks that do not require certified officers, as they are less expensive. Crime scene investigators like Mike (an intro to forensics instructor) are excellent examples of civilians greatly contributing to investigative functions.

    • Maximize Patrol's Role: Have patrol officers perform as much investigative work as possible to reduce the workload on detectives.